Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-03-16
Az, MARCH 16, 1887.

wife was not inferior to the husband.
For year or two after beginning the
practice of law Rion retained his
chair of professor in the Mount Zion
College, teaching a part of each day,
and devoting the other half to the
duties of his law Office, whilst Mrs.
Rion taught with distinguished sue
cess a private music class.
And thus was laid the foundation
of a career in life which was unin-
terruptedly successful. At the open
ing of hostilities between the Con-
federate States and the United States
Rion entered the army and remain
ed steadfastly at his post to the end.
His career as a soldier was distin-
guished, and is too we'll known to
need notice from me. His was
a marked example of promptness
and devotion to duty, of vigilance,
sobriety, discipline and gallantry,
all accomplished, too in his usual
modest, quiet and transformations
style.
After the war he devoted himself
exclusively to the practice of the
law, and achieved a success unequal
ed, perhaps, by any lawyer in Upper
Carolina, and surpassed by few in
the State. He steadily and firmly de-
clined political Office, and this great
ly contributed to unbroken success
in his profession. But he felt deep
interest in the political welfare of
the State, and in all the critical pc
riods in our eventful career since the
war he stood forth boldly for the
right, and contributed the full meas
ure of his great abilities towards the
redemption of the State from the
thralldom in which her citizens
were held by the monstrous Gov
ernment forced upon US by Congress
sional folly and Federal bayonets.
A truer patriot the State never had.
His devotion to his old Alma Mater,
the South Carolina College, was adj
mirable. His death is great loss to
that noble institution. Of all the
alumni he stood in the forefront as
her champion.
Col. Rion's success in life was due
not merely to the possession of a
mastery intellect, butalso to his COM
plete control of his faculties and his
ability to exert them to their fullest
extent without a waste of energy.
Order was the first law of his nature.
A more systematic man in labor /
never knew. He was methodical
almost to a fault, if fault there can be
in method. Unlike the lawyers out
side of our cities, he, from the out
set, established hours of Office labor,
beginning promptly at 8 o'clock, A.
M. and ending at 8 o'clock P. M.
From this rule he would not depart,
and gained instead of lost by its OBJ
servance. The remainder of the day
he spent at home with his family,
looking after the improvement and
regulation of his house and premis-
es, and the evenings and nights he
devoted to general reading. A law
book he would not carry home, nor
would he suffer himselfto be troubled
with professional labor or duties eX.
cept in his Office, and during office
hours he would suffer nothing to di.
vert his attention from professional
labor. Noone ever visited his office
as lounger or loafer but once, the at
tempt would not be repeated.
The result was that he accomplish.
ed much in comparatively little time
Heavy briefs for the Circuit and Su'
preme Courts were prepared in mar.
velous short periods of time, and
when prepared were models Of brew
ity, pith and excellence.
During the sittings of Court he was
never out of place and always ready
l do not remember ever to have
heard him make motion for contin'
uance. His example in this respect
exercised a Wholesome influence upon
his brethren of the Fairfield Bar.
He was courteous to his brethren
and respectful to the Court. Another
beautiful trait of his was kindness tC
the witness on the stand. He seem
ed to appreciate the fact that the sit
uation of the witness generally is
very trying, and calls for gentleness
and kindness of treatment from the
attorney who occupies the vantage
ground. The witness is compelled
to attend Court, and takes the stand
ordinarily under trying circumstan'
ces. His aim and purpose is to OBJ
serve his oath and speak the truth
and it is morally wrong and unkind
for the attorney to take advantage
of his position and to broWbeat and
villify one who he knows cannot
call him to account, and who he
knows is aiming to tell the truth
1t is unmanly, unfair and at vari'
ance with the true ethics Of the pro
fession. Rion recognized this, and
deported himself with great proprie
ty towards the helpless witness.
He knew also the great dangers Of
the cross ss-eXamination, and conduct.
ed it with consummate skill-this
skill often consisting in declining to-
cross examine at all. Many more
cases are lost than gained by injudi'
cious cross-examinatiOn OF witnesses
Col. Rion's extraordinary memory
and severe method in all his habits
and pursuits in life were, as is usual
inherited from his mother. was
told by DR.. Mcintosh, a native o1
Society Hill, but for many years a
citizen of Newberry, where he has
attained distinction in his profession
striking story of Mrs. Rion's won
derful powers of memory and meth
cd. DR.. Mcintosh was assigned tc
one of the Confederate hospitals,
think in Richmond, where were
many sick and wounded soldiers,
1t was the duty of the chief female
nurse or matron, among the other
things, to take charge of the clothes
of these men and have them washed
To avoid mistakes memorandum
books had to be kept, and, in spite OF
these hooks and the greatest care OF
the matrOn, confusion was constantly
occurring, greatly to the Nexation OF
the inmates. In course Of time Col.
RiOn's mother became matron of the
hospital. The hooks were given her
with special Injunction to keep the
entries correct and to avoid confusion
of clothing. 70 the amazement OF
the surgeons she declined to receive
the books, and assured them that no
mistakes would occur. They could
not credit it, but in a short time she
knew the names of every soldier in
the hospital, and seemed to have en-
graved upon her memory a perfect
inventory of every article ofclothing,
as clearly as the name of the owner.
TO their astonishment she never fail
ed to distribute correctly to each SOL